US lawmakers have canceled a vote to re-appoint SEC Commissioner Carolyn Crenshaw
The first vote was scheduled for December 11, but was postponed by Sherrod Brown, chairman of the Senate Banking Committee. Industry publicly opposed Crenshaw's appointment
US Senate Democrat Caroline Crenshaw's vote to nominate her for a second term at the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has been overturned.
A proposed vote by the revised US Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee to nominate Crenshaw to the SEC and Gordon Ito to the Financial Stability Oversight Council was canceled.
The main vote was scheduled for December 11. However, Senate Banking Committee Chairman Sherrod Brown adjourned in minutes because of issues between Democrats and Republicans.
At the time, Brown later issued a statement saying that corporate special interests were conducting a “disgusting smear campaign against Carolyn Crenshaw.”
But if Congress adjourns on Dec. 20, it means Crenshaw is unlikely to be nominated before President-elect Donald Trump's administration takes office in January.
Crenshaw's tenure officially ended in June.
Crenshaw's objection
The crypto industry has openly opposed Crenshaw's reappointment.
The Blockchain Association and the Diffie Education Fund wrote in a letter to Brown and the Senate Banking Committee that Crenshaw's actions undermine Congress's mandate to establish clear regulatory policies for the crypto industry.
Following the news of Crenshaw's reappointment, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong took to X: “She tried to block the Bitcoin ETF, and in some cases she was worse than Gensler (I didn't think that was possible).”
Crenshaw's re-nomination vote has been canceled, leaving the SEC likely to be led by a Republican majority for the time being.
The SEC can appoint up to five commissioners, but no more than three can form a single political party. Current SEC Chairman Gary Gensler, a Democrat, will step down on January 20th, and SEC Commissioner Jaime Lizaraga, a Democrat, will step down on January 17th.
Last week, Trump appointed pro-crypto Paul Atkins, a Republican, as chairman of the SEC.
Along with Gensler and Lizarraga, the other three SEC commissioners are Republicans Hester Peirce and Mark Uyeda.